Townsend Harris. The Barbarian and the Geisha
In The Barbarian and the Geisha, John Wayne plays a role which tells a fairly accurate tale of American and Japanese history, while at the same time repeats a legendary story which is based in Japanese myth. Wayne portrays Townsend Harris, a wealthy merchant from New York who in real life made several successful voyages to China and the Dutch and British colonies in the South Pacific. By the mid-1850s Harris was an expert on Asian affairs and customs. When Commodore Matthew Perry first landed in Japan and opened trade between the United States and Japan in 1854, he did so largely through intimidation. Harris was sent to Japan to negotiate a more friendly treaty.
The real Harris found an initially reluctant Japanese government, with the Shogun refusing to even meet with him for nearly a year and a half. Bearing a letter from President Franklin Pierce, which introduced Harris as his personal envoy and promised the friendship of the United States, Harris refused to negotiate with any entity but the Shogun. During the impasse, Harris resided in Shimoda in a household provided by the Japanese. It was during this residence that the legend presented in the film began. The legend has since been proven to have little basis in fact, and began during Harris’s residence to discredit him.
According to the legend, Harris adopted a geisha girl of 17 in his household. The girl, named Okichi, taught Harris the nuances of Japanese culture and customs, and helped him to understand the need to display respect and cooperation with the Shogun. As time went on the geisha and Harris developed a romantic relationship, and through her intercession Harris came to understand the Japanese, and become adapted to their ways. This change in the attitude of the American was noticed by the Shogun, who gradually became open to discuss a formal trade agreement with the United States.
In truth, a girl named Okichi was present in Harris’s Shimoda household as a housekeeper, fired after only three days because Harris was displeased with her work. There is evidence that she may have been placed in the household as an informer. Another part of the legend claims that Okichi was placed in the household to help persuade Harris to accept Japanese terms during the negotiations, though she was discharged long before trade talks between Harris and the Shogun began. After Harris made several overt gestures of respect to the Japanese government, he was allowed to go to Edo (now Tokyo) to meet with the Shogun.
The result was the Harris Treaty, which formalized trade between the Japanese and the United States, and helped lead Japan out of its period of isolation, recreating itself as a modern nation and society. Wayne’s portrayal of Harris is historically accurate in parts which do not pertain to the legend of the geisha girl. Although he was not treated with the level of hostility which is depicted in the film, he did need to overcome Japanese distrust and fear of the west. Harris returned to the United States in 1861, recalled by President Lincoln. He continued to speak of the Japanese and his tenure in Japan favorably for the rest of his life.